Cindy's Day Off
by cherrymilk
Summary: For #FFXV Week on Tumblr! Theme: Cindy. What else was a workaholic supposed to do on her day off?


Cindy shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked down the road. Hammerhead was unusually empty, and it probably had something to do with the intense heatwave that was rolling through Duscae.

"Slow day," she sighed, walking toward the garage.

Cid was lying on a beach chair under an old umbrella, as per usual. He opened one eye to regard his granddaughter. "So take the day off."

The suggestion caused Cindy to stop in her tracks. "Take the day off?"

Cid closed his eyes again. "Why not? You got nothing better to do."

"I could…" Cindy looked at the open garage. Everything had already been neatly put away, and there wasn't a single car to work on. "I could reorganize the tools."

Cid snorted. "You're a workaholic," he paused for a moment before continuing fondly, "just like your Paw-paw."

* * *

Cindy ventured into the backroom of the garage and changed into a pair of denim cutoffs and an old white t-shirt. Her idea to reorganize the tools had quickly transformed into a plan to scrub the entire garage. It was still early, and she was sure she could get it done by nightfall. She tied a red checked bandana in her blonde hair to keep it out of her face, filled a bucket with soapy water, grabbed a sponge and a few rags, and went out into the garage.

"Hope you're not expectin' me to help," Cid called from outside.

Cindy chuckled as she got on her knees next to the bucket. "I got this Paw-paw. This place is gonna be squeaky clean by the time I'm done!"

Cid didn't respond.

* * *

 _Why couldn't you just take the day off_?

Cindy scrubbed at the floor harder, and pushed the thought out of her mind. She loved to work – truly she did. But she also knew that part of the reason she refused to take the day off was because she had nothing to do, and nobody to hang out with. Sure, Cid was always an option, but they were around each other constantly. She didn't have any friends, and she knew it. On the bright side, working all day every day didn't give her any time to mope. She hated sulking.

As the day went on, she began to hear voices outside. Nobody was there for the garage, but anything was better than an empty, lonely Hammerhead. She heard Cid barking at people who had dared to interrupt his day-long nap, and she smiled. She was almost done with the floor – the rest of the garage awaited.

Cindy reached the entrance, and was doing her very last bit of scrubbing when a pair of black boots came into view. She sat on her haunches and looked up to see Prompto.

"Well, I wasn't expectin' you boys to come through today!" she said. To her surprise, she found herself on the verge of beaming.

Prompto turned pink immediately. "W-we were in the area, and Noct wanted Cid to take a look at his sword."

Cindy stood up and dusted herself off. "Good, it'll give him something to do. What about the rest of y'all?"

"Guess we're waiting for Noct," Prompto chuckled. "What are _you_ doing?"

Cindy heard Cid telling Noctis off outside. She turned toward Prompto and grinned. "It's my day off."

"So…you're…cleaning…?" Prompto said slowly, looking at the bucket of soapy water.

Cindy laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Sure am. Not much to do out here in Hammerhead."

"Yeah." Prompto's cheeks were still pink. Cindy knew why, of course. She just didn't know what to do about it. He perked up suddenly. "Need some help?"

"That's sweet, but you don't have to."

"No, I want to!" Prompto insisted, bouncing on his heels. "Put me to work!"

Cindy smiled.

* * *

Cleaning seemed to go by a lot faster now that Prompto was helping. The first half hour or so was a bit awkward, but they soon found themselves talking about everything under the sun. Prompto was technologically inclined, much to Cindy's surprise. The other boys popped in periodically, offering to help, but Cindy turned them away. She only had two eyes, after all, and wouldn't have been able to keep track of everybody.

 _Or you're having a good time talking to Prompto_. _He hangs onto your every word, after all._

She slammed a drawer shut, hoping that the thought would be trapped inside. Cindy was incredibly personable – everybody loved her. She had no trouble talking to people, but actually making lasting friends was uncharted territory. Luckily for her, Prompto was incredibly interested in everything she had to say. It felt nice.

"…and we'll be heading to Altissia any day now," Prompto finished. He was scrubbing the counters down, and had just updated Cindy on pretty much everything that had happened since she'd seen them last.

"I'd love to go to Altissia one of these days," Cindy sighed dreamily. "Heard it's real beautiful out there."

"Why don't you?"

Cindy stopped organizing her toolbox for a minute before responding. "I couldn't."

"How come?" Prompto let the question hang in the air before blushing. "You don't have to tell me!"

"Nah, it's alright," Cindy chuckled. "I've spent so much of my life workin' here in Hammerhead. I know I could leave for a bit – Paw-paw wouldn't stop me – but it's scary, y'know?"

Prompto looked at her intently. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

They cleaned in comfortable silence after that.

* * *

"And…done!" Cindy sang, closing the last drawer. It was dark outside, but Hammerhead was flooded with fluorescent light.

She walked over to Prompto, who was pulling his vest back on. "Thank you for helping. It was real sweet of you."

He blushed. "Any time! Literally."

"Better find the others. I bet they've been missin' you."

"Nah," Prompto laughed. "They're probably enjoying the silence." He paused before continuing. "Do you wanna come have dinner with us? Ignis is a great cook."

This time, it was Cindy's turn to blush. She wasn't sure why her face was getting warm, but it was. And, truth be told, she wasn't sure that she liked it.

"I should check in with Paw-paw," Cindy responded, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I ain't hungry," Cid grumbled, walking into the garage. "Go on."

Cindy and Prompto watched Cid disappear into the backroom. She turned toward Prompto and smiled.

"Lead the way!"

* * *

Prompto was right: Ignis _was_ a great cook. She talked and laughed with the others as they ate. She listened to all their wild stories, and giggled as they went out of their way to embarrass Prompto. The heat had become a warm breeze, and the stars were out in full force. It was almost midnight when they decided to turn in.

Cindy thanked them profusely, and waved as she returned to the garage. She found Cid sitting in an armchair and reading a newspaper.

"Have a good time with your friends?" he asked, yawning.

 _Friends?_

Cindy was hit with the realization that they _were_ her friends. She had actual, genuine friends. Maybe she wasn't as isolated as she thought.

"Sure did," she said, kissing Cid on his cheek. "Thanks for givin' me the day off."

Cid snorted.


End file.
